It apparently is true that once a player gets to the NFL Pro Bowl, it is easier to get there again. It is great that Washington Redskins standout middle linebacker London Fletcher is going to go to Hawaii again and it doesn’t matter to me that it is because Chicago Bears linebacker Brian Urlacher has pulled out of the game due to an undisclosed injury. I say, the Fates (and yes, Fletcher’s play) made it so.
Even if Fletcher hadn’t had another good season – playing in all 16 games with 136 combined tackles, 87 solo and 49 assists, 2.5 sacks, 11 passes defended and one interception – he should go for the next five years just to make up for all the years he should have gone and didn’t. Not to take anything away from Urlacher, but Fletcher should have gone to the big game several times already. Look at his 2005 season when he logged 157 tackles, 104 of which were solo. And all of this is notwithstanding the fact that he has 208 consecutive starts in the NFL, tied with Indianapolis Colts quarterback Peyton Manning and Tampa Bay Bucs’ cornerback Ronde Barber.
What I don’t understand is why Redskins safety LaRon Landry was not even an alternate for the fun-in-the-sun game. Before he got hurt, Landry was having a great year. I’ve heard people say that (the alleged) nose tackle Albert Haynesworth was the best defensive player on the team. I disagree. LaRon Landry was a better player than Haynesworth this past season.
Second year linebacker Brian Orakpo and cornerback DeAngelo Hall are also going to Hawaii, Hall having been voted in as a first stringer and Orakpo going in place of Green Bay Packers’ linebacker Clay Matthews. Matthews isn’t going because he’ll be a tad busy. Green Bay is, of course, playing the Pittsburgh Steelers in the Superbowl on February 6. That should be a good game.
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My son was born in Johnstown, PA; not too far from Pittsburgh. Because of that, I have a sentimental attachment to the Steelers. But I have hated those terrible towels ever since they took over FedexField last time the Steelers came to Washington (November 2008). You hear me? I’m not alone in this hatred.
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The mantra of head coach Mike Shanahan this past season has been that the staff is “going to do what is in the best interest of the organization.” Apparently, the head coach traveling to Alabama to attend the Senior Bowl to scout possible draft picks isn’t part of the equation for what’s best for the team.
No problem. That’s why the Redskins employ people like Director of Player Personnel, Scott Campbell, and he will be there evaluating the young NFL prospects.
“The Senior Bowl tends to tell a little more because it’s coached by NFL coaching staffs and is run in a way we’re familiar with,” Campbell said according to redskins.com, “with the one-on-one type drills with an NFL staff coaching it. It’s catered to our needs and the best players come to that game. It’s going to be the best product from a college standpoint.”
General Manager Bruce Allen will reportedly be at the Senior Bowl. I guess that means that he isn’tjust the Director of Pants and Alumni (joke!).
Even with the Head Coach/Executive Vice President (Shanahan) not being there, his “system” will undoubtedly be to make sure he has all kinds of game film and reports for every single coach on the Redskins’ staff to view before the draft. And Allen will come home from the game with either glowing praise - or the opposite - of players like the University of Washington’s quarterback Jake Locker and Colorado tackle Nate Solder.
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I am still bothered by the events that transpired with current Redskins quarterback Donovan McNabb. Between his being benched in the last two minutes of the game against the Detroit Lions, the lack of sincere verbal support by the head coach and offensive coordinator Kyle Shanahan during the season and the subsequent demotion to third string quarterback during the last games of the season…. I just hope Shanahan and McNabb have had the necessary discussions to bring it to a point where McNabb can live with it. The quarterback has a lot of class and talent and I think he's gotten the raw end of the deal - at least from this perspective.
I hated to have to qualify my first statement about McNabb with the word “current.” The word of course indicating that we don’t know how long he is going to be in Washington. I can’t believe he would want to stay here with everything that has happened. One can’t help but wonder how much better he could have become in Kyle Shanahan’s system had he been given both more time and more players - like Malcolm Kelly (if he is who some think he could be) or say, San Diego’s 2011 free agent, Vincent Jackson.
I am not taking anything away from Washington wide outs Santana Moss or Anthony Armstrong. They both had good years… especially Moss. There is some public thinking that McNabb didn’t have enough weapons in his arsenal to have a great year but I don’t whole-heartedly agree with this. Moss is a great receiver and his lack of height is surpassed by his effort and talent. Just look at his stats for this year.
I just think McNabb could have done more than he was given a chance to do… but that’s just me.
OK. I’m not going to get sappy here. But after talking to Washington Redskins quarterback John Beck and then thinking back on my own personal experience with the ones that I know, I have decided that most professional football players are extraordinary people.
I interviewed Beck to talk about his foundation, Friends for Football, www.friendsforfootball.org. He is the second Redskin with whom I have had an in depth conversation about their personal charities (Lorenzo Alexander was the first) and it wasn’t just the fact that so many professional players invest a lot of time and effort into giving to others that makes them so special. There is evidence that to even play the game, one has to be pretty amazing.
Beck and I sat outside behind the training facility in Ashburn to talk. Northern Virginia was enjoying one of those rare, beautiful days late in the season and it had to have been 70 degrees outside. Warm weather, bright skies, no humidity... it was nice outside in the sun. The green, empty practice fields were down below us and, in front of us, players came and went because practice was over. Some of the guys were working out in the equipment room with the door propped open, some were talking to each other or on their cell phones. All appeared relaxed.
The quarterback was, of course, happy to talk about his foundation. Friends For Football has existed for a couple of years and was started in Arizona where John grew up. While many of the beneficiaries are from Utah where he went to Brigham Young University (BYU), Beck’s foundation has helped kids from as far away as Hawaii. His organization helps kids aged seven to 14 play football for their local or school leagues by helping them buy things like cleats, pads, membership registrations, uniforms and the like when their parent(s) can’t otherwise afford them. For a family with a couple of boys, those types of things can run into hundreds of dollars for a single season and the funding makes it possible for them to join a football team.
“We have it set up where the first year we did it, we helped out 67 or 68 kids from disadvantaged homes where, like I said, a single mother may be raising two or three boys,” John said. “Sign up fees [for football in schools or leagues] might be $225 and that’s not including anything else that goes along with it like a pad rental fee. They have to buy cleats. The first year we did it, we helped out 67 kids buy cleats as well.
“We have helped out families that had three boys. That’s almost $1,000 and a lot of families just don’t have $1,000 to put towards their kids for football.”
Beck holds an annual golf tournament at Red Ledges Golf Course in Heber, UT as well as a couple of football camps and dinners to raise funds for his foundation. He invites other players to participate and has had players such as former BYU teammates Nate Meikle, Johnny Harline and Cameron Jensen according to The Bleacher Report. Some of his former college teammates now also play for NFL teams and a few who have participated in his tournament or football camps are Brian Kehl and David Nixon (St. Louis Rams), Max Hall (Arizona Cardinals), Austin Collie (Indianapolis Colts), Dennis Pitta (Baltimore Ravens), Naufahu Tahi (Minnesota Vikings), Ty Detmer (former Heisman Trophy winner, last played for the Atlanta Falcons), and Harvey Unga (Chicago Bears). His 503.C organization was blessed enough to have received a grant from the Baltimore Ravens when he played for them and every year he has been able to increase the number of kids to help.
There is a lot to consider when Beck decides to whom help will be given. There have been families that needed something besides money. They might be in a situation where a couple of boys could use a good role model in their lives.
“A lot of the kids we help out come from single parent homes... especially just a single mother raising two or three boys without a father figure,” Beck said. “We believe that that’s important in their lives. Where can they find that father figure? Well, one way is through a coach.”
As John’s foundation has become more well-known, he has had to become more discretionary about whom to give funding.
“The first year it was open on a kind of first-come-first-served basis,” Beck admitted, “but there were so many people. We helped out 70 [families] and we still had to tell 20-30+ people that we were out of funds for the year. So we felt bad because we felt like some of those people that we’d already helped were just in a way like, 'Hey... times are tough. Can you help me out?'"
The QB described how he makes the hard decisions now.
“They submit a paragraph or two about their situation,” he explained. “Either the kid or the parent can contact us.
“We’ve had some fathers [that have written], ‘Hey, I’m a single parent. I have two boys [and] I got into this car accident [that required] leg surgery. I was out of work for so long that when I came back from the injury I was released from work. I've been out of a job rehabbing and I have no way to pay for my kids.’
“So they contact us and what we do is we go directly through their league. They say, ‘I play in this league in this area,’ and we send a check directly to the league for them for their pads and everything. Then they go and weigh in and the only thing we ask is that they send us back a picture with a note about what they’ve learned during the season.”
Beck loves hearing back from the kids and families that Friends For Football has helped.
“It’s been great,” he said. “We’ve had so many kids that write back. One of the best stories we’ve had is a kid that wrote and said, ‘I always wanted to play football but I never knew if I could do it and I never had the chance to because my parents didn’t have the money. I played football this year and I scored my first touchdown. I learned how to tackle.’”
As I spoke with Beck, it was increasingly clear to me that there was something about the game of football that made it more than just a job to him. He played different sports as a youngster and I wondered why he focused solely on the pigskin with his charity. In answering, the BYU grad showed a surprising amount of passion about the game he plays and I began to understand why football was the chosen activity for his foundation. He spoke of the hard work that it takes to be fit enough to play a very tough game. He spoke of the trust players are required to have in each other, the self-esteem that a kid could develop by being trusted by his teammates and the value of every single player on the field doing his job the way it’s supposed to be done.
“When I first learned how to play quarterback,” Beck described enthusiastically, “one of the things I loved most was throwing a pass and getting wacked as I threw it.”
I just about fell off the bench!
‘Huh...?!?This guy loves getting hit???’
I understood however, as he pushed on: “And I just trusted that, where I threw that ball, even though I’m not going to see it because I’ve gotten hit, it’s going to go and the receiver’s going to catch it, I’m going to get up and shake off the hit and go on to the next play. I loved that about the game… I still do.
"A quarterback throws the ball before the receiver gets to the spot… I’m trusting [the receiver] to be where he’s supposed to be to make the play. Now, take a kid from a disadvantaged background. How many people is he going to trust? If he’s gotten into a little bit of trouble, how many people are going to trust him? You’ve got to learn trust in football. You’ve got to learn that when you line up, you’ve got to trust this guy, you’ve got to trust that guy. And he learns that people can trust him and it does great things for his self esteem.
"People have said for years that ‘football is the ultimate team sport’. A basketball player… he can grab a rebound, go down the court, shoot the ball, make it and he can do that by himself. A baseball player? It’s him and the pitcher until the ball is hit... the fielders don’t get involved. It’s a one-on-one duel. You can go through so many sports like that, where it’s all about the one guy. But in football, you cannot - as a quarterback - take the snap and run for a touchdown. There's no way (unless you’re a kid doing a trick play in a Youtube video). And on every play, all 11 people on offense are involved. Ten people can do the thing right but if that one person messes up, that hinders whether for instance, the running back succeeds at his job. If he can’t get that block from that 11th guy, he’s not going to get the most yards that he can. In football, on every play, 11 people have to be involved and do their jobs.”
On the Friends For Football website, it states that the organization was created to give youth from underprivileged circumstances the opportunity to gain valuable lessons that are taught from participating in organized football leagues. It goes on to assert that when a person is committed to a team environment it teaches them about discipline, accountability, and how to strive after your goals.
After speaking with Beck, I have a new and different perspective on the activity he loves so much and the players who are involved with it professionally. The mission of his foundation includes a short narrative on some of what makes football different from any other sport and it touches on why I take my hat off to the professionals in the NFL.
Unlike any other sport, football is the ultimate team sport. Not every player on the field touches the ball. On each play you are dependent on your teammates as they are dependent on you. No sport has more people on the field at once all executing their role for a single play and one purpose.
Beck was as inspired as anyone I’ve ever spoken to about his profession and it made me want to run and put on some pads and a helmet myself. His enthusiasm was contagious. Not only does he love the game itself, he loves the lessons it can teach kids and the character that is required to play the game well.
Here are some of the other things that he said about both his sport and what it can do for the kids he helps.
“During the week, their buddies may be going to go ride bikes or whatever… well, two or three times a week they’ve got to sacrifice that time to put it into football and try to get better.”
“Another thing about the game of football is you’re going to get knocked down and you’ve got to learn to get back up.”
“Another cool thing is that many kids get to see encouragement from their parents. I mean, kids are smart. They know, ‘my family doesn’t have a lot’. They see the situations around them. Maybe they see Billy’s parents giving him everything that his parents can’t. Well, the great thing is that when they’re out there playing football, their parents are on the sideline supporting him.”
“It’s not about, ‘Hey, this kid is missing out on football and he might be a football star someday down the road’. No… that is not it. The majority of the kids that we help play football are not going to play football past junior high – high school maybe. But the thing is what it’s going to teach them. It’s going to teach them principles; it’s going to teach them to have that character that they need to be successful in whatever field they choose.”
“I also want to teach them what to do so they can accomplish their goals even if the road becomes bumpy so they can succeed. Instead, of saying ‘I don’t know what to do. I’ve never been knocked down before,’ - and turning to drugs, crime, stuff like that - they think, ‘I’m trying to make this path happen. This is how I’ve got to do it.’”
“In order for a majority of us to get here, we have to take a path of a lot of determination and no path is ever that easy. So all of us have had to go through things to get here and you want to do something for the kids – you want to alleviate [some of the obstacles they might encounter on] their path.”
Football is a tough game. As John says, on any given play, it requires 11 individuals to focus on one goal. Not only must these individuals do their jobs, the game is so violent that, in doing their jobs, at least some of the time, they will be hit and hit hard - especially when the opposition is focusing hard on their goal.
Some would say, “Yea, well… for that kind of money, I will let someone get violent with me, too.” But one cannot ignore what these professional football players went through to get to the National Football League. They did not just wake up one day and say to themselves, “Hmmm… I don’t mind getting hit… I think I’ll be a professional football player!”
They, for the most part, spent years and years honing their skills. Many began playing in a Pop Warner “TINY-MITE” league at five-years-old. Think about it: a 25-year-old running back – one of the most battered players in the game – might have been playing football for twenty years by the time he is in his prime in the NFL. It’s no wonder that running backs have a 4.5-year productive life span in the league.
Beck went on an overseas mission to Lisbon, Portugal just after high school. He spent two years in abject poverty, giving to others without the basic comforts that most of us here in the United States enjoy. Things like restrooms, actual flooring (most structures had dirt floors), clean water and medicine were either hard to find or non-existent. During those two years, he had one day per week to do things for himself like laundry, exercise, housecleaning, shopping, etc. When he returned to the States, not only did he have a new-found appreciation for carpet, he realized how difficult it was going to be to get back into the physical shape required to play football again. Getting back into football shape after those two years was one of the most difficult things he has ever done.
We know that these days there is not much of an off-season for many athletes, both at the college and the professional level. Constant physical fitness training is necessary in order to stay strong and be competitive. Many NFL players have been working out hard year-round since high school.
Additionally, most schools require a minimum GPA in order for the players to remain on the active roster. While there is evidence that exceptions have (perhaps underhandedly) been made for a select few over the years, the majority must study in the little free time they have at the higher college levels to maintain that GPA. This continues on the professional level as they learn and evolve with their NFL play books.
Football players' injuries must be rehabbed at an extraordinary pace – much more quickly than a typical person's and there is some pressure to 'play hurt.' The sacrifice they make with their bodies is extraordinary, hence the pressure for strength and being in “football shape.” I have always respected players who have won the Ed Block Courage Award for whatever reason. Some of the physical rehabilitation that they have accomplished after serious injuries to then come back and play the game is amazing. Redskins nose tackle Ma'ake Kemoeatu was the most recent Washington winner.
Considering how hard Beck had to work to get back into shape after his mission makes his accomplishments in college even more amazing. He attended BYU from 2003 through 2006 and in his first year, he played in eight games with four starts, becoming only the second true freshman to start a game at quarterback (Factoid: Marc Wilson was the first in 1977 – he later led the Oakland Raiders to victory in Superbowl XVIII in 1984).
While at BYU, Beck was a four-year letterman and started at quarterback his final three seasons. During his senior year he was All-American (2nd team) for Sporting News, All-American for Sports Illustrated and Mountain West Conference (MWC) Offensive Player of the Year after putting together six 300-yard passing games. Beck was a finalist for the Johnny Unitas Golden Arm Award, a Davey O’Brien Award semi-finalist, a Walter Camp National Offensive Player of the Week and 2nd in NCAA passing efficiency (169.05).
The former Cougar started 12 games as a senior, leading BYU to a record of 11-2 and the MWC crown. He completed 289 passes out of of 417 pass attempts (69.3%) for 3,885 yards with 32 touchdowns and just 8 interceptions.
On the BYU website, a short narrative about the 2006 BYU vs. University of Utah football game (this is a huge rivalry and is dubbed “The Holy War”) states:
2006 may have been one of the greatest games in the history of the rivalry. With the lead switching hands several times in the final minutes, BYU drove 75 yards in 10 plays in the last 1:19 to win the game, responding to a nine-play, 83-yard Utah drive. All-American John Beck connected with wide open tight end Jonny Harline in the end zone on the game’s final play in what has been deemed "the 13-second miracle” for Cougar fans. The 33-31 victory sealed a perfect league record for BYU and their first victory over Utah since 2001.
Even though I’ve decided football players are extraordinary and deserve more respect than they get from people who don’t understand or love the game, they do have their “moments.” I came across this video on YouTube of Beck at one of his football camps. He is, of course, great with the kids and is shown teaching them different fundamentals of quarterbacking. However, watch and see if he is really doing all of the right things all of the time! (It starts with a short clip of Beck quarterbacking a game... keep watching...)
John Beck came to the Washington Redskins from the Baltimore Ravens in a trade for cornerback Doug Dutch on Aug. 2, 2010. He was a second-round draft pick (40th overall) to the Miami Dolphins in the 2007 NFL Draft and stayed in Miami until he went the Ravens in 2009.
Beck played in three pre-season games against the Buffalo Bills, the New York Jets and the Arizona Cardinals last season for the Redskins. He completed 20 of 39 passes for 235 yards (51.3%) and one interception..
I don’t mean to paint a picture of professional football players as of a bunch of saints playing on any given football team. There are certainly many other highly regarded professions which require greater sacrifice. The point is that because of the huge amounts of money, celebrity status and entitlement that come with the profession, many people forget about the sacrifices that these men made and continue to make to get to and remain in the National Football League.
A large majority of NFL players use the fruits of their labors to help other people. Many of these guys have families, go to church, have their own charities and spend money and time giving to their teammate’s or team’s charities. Their hard work over the years and the giving back that they do cannot and should not be ignored. In fact, it should be celebrated.
The football season came and went quickly this year. It seems like just the other day I was standing down on the practice fields during the Washington Redskins’ Organized Team Activities (OTAs) wishing I’d remembered to put on sun block. Larry Michael from Redskins Nation was saying, “Only 30 more days until the first preseason game, folks!” and we were grumbling about defensive tackle Albert Haynesworth training down in Tennessee rather than with the team.
While the season is over for the Washington Redskins, the playoffs will keep NFL fans busy for a while longer. The playoffs go throughout the month of January, the Pro Bowl is January 30 and the Superbowl is in early February (the 6th this year in Dallas).
Thankfully for professional football addicts like me, because of things like the NFL Network and the Internet, it’s true that the football season never truly ends anymore. There is free agency and the draft. Then shortly after, players reconvene in mini-camps and OTAs all throughout the league.
This year, that intense beauty pageant for top college football players that is called the NFL Scouting Combine starts on February 23 and goes through March 1, 2011. There is comprehensive TV coverage of this on the NFL Network.
With the Superbowl being played on February 6, there is less than three weeks from that last game of the 2010 season until “it” all starts over again.
Free agent signings and movement will be interesting this off-season because of the situation surrounding the CBA. With the 2011 NFL Draft (thankfully, still) taking place on April 28-30 (at Radio City Music Hall in New York), top college football players will have the professional football world’s attention. They will keep minds occupied from the final whistle of Super Bowl XLV, through the combine until the end of the draft itself.
This off-season, the Redskins have some free agents with contracts expiring and what happens where they are concerned will garner a lot of attention. Key players about which head coach Mike Shanahan must make decisions are quarterback Rex Grossman, wide receiver Santana Moss, cornerbacks Carlos Rogers and Phillip Buchanon, right tackle Jammal Brown, defensive end Kedric Golston, linebacker Rocky McIntosh and safety Reed Doughty. Generally “free agency” ends about a week before the draft.
There was talk about what position(s) the Redskins need to concentrate on in the draft as soon as it was determined that they were not going to have a shot at the playoffs. With the situation unfolding around quarterback Donovan McNabb being benched there is speculation that he will not be back for the 2011 season. If not, the quarterback position must be addressed. By the same token, all season long we have lamented the neglect by the previous regime of the offensive and defensive lines. Additionally, many have opined that there are skill positions on which focus is important. Running back (will Clinton Portis be back? Is Ryan Torain a 25-carry-per-game back?), wide receiver (a taller end-zone threat to compliment Moss who rules in the slot?) and safety (ever since we lost Sean Taylor, fans have wanted to find a similar compliment to LaRon Landry… we’ll never have a pair like those two would have been but one can dream).
Also, with Shanahan saying he wants the team to "go younger," the draft will be even more important. At least since it is General Manager Bruce Allen and Shanahan running the organization rather than Vinny Cerrato, we can count on having some draft picks left when the event comes around.
Last year, many of the Redskins players stayed around for much of the off-season. McNabb was brought to the team in early April and he was often out in Ashburn working out and getting to know his teammates. If the players take the same initiative this coming season, there will be things to report on and discuss.
Shanahan had his players in mini-camps on April 16-18 (voluntary), May 7-9 (rookies; voluntary for veterans) and in June from the 16th to the 18th last off-season.
The team had also OTAs on May 17-19, 24-26, June 1-3, 7-8 and 10-11.
During most of those times, there were reporters present and stories being relayed.
Training camp was, of course, a huge deal by the time it arrived in late July. There were record numbers of fans in attendance on the days they were allowed and, in the case of this past year, with the abundance of interesting story lines, national media as well as the local press showed up in Ashburn.
The remainder of the 2010 season going into the 2011 off-season will likely go something like this:
Playoffs - Now through January 23rd, 2011 (division championships are that weekend)
NFL Pro Bowl - January 30th, 2011
NFL Superbowl XLV - February 6th, 2011
2011 NFL Scouting Combine - February 23rd through March 1st, 2011
Free Agency - signings begin in late February, early March and end approximately a week before the draft
2011 NFL Draft - April 28th through April 30th, 2011
2011 OTAsOTAs on March 29th and Seattle began the first voluntary mini-camp of the season from April 13th through the 15th)
2011 Training Camps Begin - Mid- to late July 2011 (the Cleveland Browns had the earliest training camp last season when their rookies had to report on July 23rd)
2011 NFL Preseason - Early to Mid-August 2011. In 2010, the Hall of Fame Game was played on August 8th
2011 Regular Season Schedule - Last year, the first game was played on Thursday, September 9th, 2010
There will be a few times during this off-season when things will seem dull in Washington. The players and coaches all need some time off and they will take it. But in these days of instant access to the news, there will almost always be something about the Washington Redskins to discuss.
Unfortunately, Washington Redskins tight end Fred Davis has been accused of throwing a drink on a woman in a nightclub. There were also reports that he hit her in the lip with some sort of object but the tight end has denied this.
According to TMZ.com, the incident occurred in a D.C. area nightclub early Thursday morning.
The woman told police she was a nightclub called Josephine when Davis approached her. She used the term "aggressive" when describing Davis and said he grabbed her. That is when she threw a drink on him and it was to this that Davis evidently reacted.
106.7 The Fan Redskins beat reporter Grant Paulsen tweeted that Davis admits that he did retaliate when the woman threw a drink on him but insists that the accusation concerning him striking her with an object is "completely false." There is reportedly a nightclub video that will prove him innocent and Davis indicated that he was eager for authorities to view this evidence so that his denial would be reinforced.
Davis has yet to be charged after meeting with police on Thursday.
The NFL works on a rotation schedule and this year, the Washington Redskins' NFC East Division plays the AFC East according to NFLMedia. Because Washington ended up in last place in our division, the team also plays the last place teams from the NFC North and South, the Minnesota Vikings and the Carolina Panthers respectively.
That means, throughout next season Washington will go away to play our division rivals the Dallas Cowboys, the Philadelphia Eagles, and the New York Giants as well as the Carolina Panthers, Buffalo Bills, Seattle Seahawks, Miami Dolphins and St. Louis Rams. The Redskins will host Dallas, Philadelphia, the Giants, the Arizona Cardinals, the San Fransisco 49ers, the New York Jets, the Minnesota Vikings and the New England Patriots.
The team will have to travel to the west coast only once for the Seahawks contest and to the mid-west to play the St. Louis Rams.
Redskins Nation might want to get ready to make its presence known down in Miami this year. One can always use a trip to warm, sunny Florida during the cold weather!
I hate this part. Redskins fans know what I am talking about. That few days right after the last game of the season – win or lose – when we know that we haven’t made the playoffs and we know that all the other fans are watching THEIR teams get ready for that next big game. Eeesh. Oh well… life goes on.
On with some news you may or may not know about…
Five Redskins are having surgery now that the season is over. John Keim of the Washington Examiner reports that tight end Chris Cooley had arthroscopic surgery yesterday.
He also writes that strong safety LaRon Landry and Casey Rabach (both right shoulder) and free safety Kareem Moore (right knee) are also going under the knife. Defensive end Kedric Golston going to have a surgery for a hernia problem.
Head coach Mike Shanahan is going to keep the entire coaching staff he has in place. That’s fine with me though some would argue that both special teams coach, Danny Smith, and defensive backs coach, Bob Slowik, should go. I disagree. Besides the fact that the team needs stability (and stability is helped along by a lack of change), these two guys’ records speak for themselves.
Many people equate (former Pittsburgh Steeler, then Redskin and now Steeler again) Antwaan Randle El’s ineffective punt returning over last season with Smith’s special teams. In fact, where Smith’s groups shine has frequently been in coverage. Can't you just hear those hard hits by Lorenzo Alexander and Mike Sellers?
Beside the fact that the special teams coach is such a unique personality and his players seem to love playing for him, his groups have generally been held in high regard throughout the league and are usually in the top ten in the NFL in different special teams’ categories. Last year, his guys finished third in kickoff return average allowed (19.1-yard average) and sixth in punt return average allowed (6.9-yard average). The Redskins were one of only two teams to finish in the top six in both categories.
In 2008, Smith’s kickoff return unit finished third in the NFC and sixth in the NFL in average starting field position (29.0-yard line). Also, Smith’s coverage unit finished sixth in the NFL as the average drive for Washington’s opponents started on the 25.7-yard line, all according to redskins.com.
In 2007, the Redskins’ kickoff return units ranked fourth in the NFL and second in the NFC in average starting field position (30.8-yard line).
Bob Slowik’s ‘good-ol’-boy’ type of personality might rub some people wrong but it’s the players that count. He was in Denver with Shanahan from 2005 – 2008 and in that time, his DBs helped the club yield the eighth-lowest opponent passer rating (77.9) in the NFL according to his bio on redskins.com. Also, cornerback Champ Bailey – traded to Denver for Clinton Portis – and safety John Lynch both earned Pro Bowl appearances from 2005 – 2007 under the coach. Actually, since Slowik has been coaching in the NFL (since 1993), six of his players have been to Hawaii 11 times.
The Redskins have seven picks in the draft at this point, including the tenth pick in the first round (I don’t think they have any picks in the third or fourth round but that could change). By the way, had the team lost to the Jacksonville Jaguars two weeks ago, they would have the sixth pick. I’ll take the win.
Allen was creative last year with trades and you never know what draft-day tricks he might come up with for the Burgundy & Gold.
The 2011 NFL draft will begin on Thursday April 28th and go through the 30th, regardless of the status of the CBA according to Mark Maese of the Washington Post. Here is the order for the top 20 picks currently:
1. Carolina Panthers (2-14), 2. Denver Broncos (4-12), 3. Buffalo Bills (4-12), 4. Cincinnati Bengals (4-12), 5. Arizona Cardinals (5-11), 6. Cleveland Browns (5-11), 7. San Francisco 49ers (6-10), 8. Tennessee Titans (6-10), 9. Dallas Cowboys (6-10), 10. Washington Redskins (6-10), 11. Houston Texans (6-10), 12. Minnesota Vikings (6-10), 13. Detroit Lions (6-10), 14. St. Louis Rams (7-9), 15. Miami Dolphins (7-9), 16. Jacksonville Jaguars (8-8), 17. Oakland Raiders (8-8), 18. San Diego Chargers (9-7), 19. New York Giants (10-6) and 20. Tampa Bay Buccaneers (10-6)
There is never any lack of speculation and opinion out there about what position Washington should use on that first pick and, of course, a lot depends on what happens with quarterbacks Donovan McNabb and Rex Grossman. So far, Shanahan won’t commit one way or another but has said that he would look at every position that is available in April. There are so many positions that need to either be upgraded or have depth added… quarterback probably, and both offensive and defensive lines at the very least.
The free agents on the team are several and varied. Quarterback Rex Grossman, wide out Santana Moss, linebacker Rocky McIntosh, cornerback Carlos Rogers, right tackle Jammal Brown, defensive end Kedric Golston, cornerback Phillip Buchanon and safety Reed Doughty are just some of the more well-known players whose contracts are up. In my opinion, a few of those should be resigned, especially Moss but others as well.
I am sorry to say that one of the players that does not feel like he’ll be back next season is linebacker/former defensive end Andre Carter. With the conversion to the 3-4 scheme, Carter was himself converted to linebacker this season. Because he struggled early on and only began to feel comfortable very recently, he feels the team will not pick up the option to extend his contract.
Carter is melancholy about leaving Washington.
“It is tough. There’s so much history here, and I’m so appreciative of the guys that are here. Phillip Daniels bringing me in, Renaldo Wynn, Joe Salave'a, Cornelius Griffin. Those were the guys on the defensive front and we’ve had a lot of great battles together,” Carter said according to Mike Jones of TBD.com. “The run that we made in 2007 was just such a great part of my career. It’s a lot of great memories, but the game of football is just going to keep on continuing. That’s life. … My wife and myself, we made a lot of great friends on and off the field and we’ll continue to maintain the relationships that I’ve gained. It’s no telling what the future holds. But I’m very appreciative of the media, the owner, Dan Snyder, bringing me in and Greg Blache, Gregg Williams, I could name so many guys off the back of my head. I’m very grateful for this experience.”
With Carter over 30-years old and the coach talking about heading towards younger players, he could be correct in his prediction of not being re-signed.
“We’d like to have guys on the younger side.” Shanahan said during his Monday press conference.
The Washington Redskins are a six-win team… face it. As ugly as it sounds (no, I’m NOT going to say, “It is what it is!”), it could have been worse and many folks think it should have been with the personnel on this team. Not being one of them, I thought they’d go 10 – 6, even 11 – 5 at one point (that lasted about two hours). But, as much as the coaching staff and system improved from last season to this, it wasn’t enough to overcome the sins of the past. The neglect of the draft and lack of depth on both lines caught up with them and even head coach Mike Shanahan and General Manager Bruce Allen could not make it work the way they’d hoped. This, combined with a few questionable decisions by coaches and players and... as I said, a six-win team.
That is not to say that the Washington Redskins don’t have a lot of potential. I am not nearly as pessimistic as some out there who think it’s going to be years before they turn into a winning franchise.
So, now we wrap up the first year in a new era of Redskins franchise history. We began the year with such optimism... such enthusiasm! Some of that has waned as events occurred to change our minds about people and things but, at the very least, it was an interesting year.
Let us explore some of the things that will stand out from “The Shanahan Era – Year One”:
The Albert Haynesworth Debacle. Of course. No matter how you look at it, it’s hard to think of this season without thinking of the $100 Million Man and his arch nemesis, Mike Shanahan. I’m trying to think if I have ever seen two grown men be so stubborn. Haynesworth, even for $21 million could not see fit to come give a new position a try, even though the most of his teammates were telling him he would be surprised at how much he might like it. When he finally decided to present himself to the team, Mike was so mad at him, he wouldn't let him play with the other boys until he passed his test. When that issue was finally resolved, we had an uneasy peace for about five minutes during which the digging at each other by the two continued but no one actually blew a fuse. It all fell apart when Haynesworth had a ‘bad practice,’ was late to a meeting the week preceding the Tampa Bay game and received a four-game suspension.
I do wish that at least one of these two grown men would take the high road in this current situation but it doesn’t look like it’s going to happen. Too much damage has been done to right the Shanahan-Haynesworth ship and it’s likely the latter has played his last game in burgundy & gold.
During yesterday’s press conference, Mike Shanahan was asked whether or not he spoke to Haynesworth while he was at Redskins Park. What Shanahan said was:
“No, I did not meet with him. You know, the last time he was in the building he would not meet with me so, it is what it is… One of the reason’s Albert’s not with us is he refused to see me. It is what it is.
“He showed up today so he could take a physical or else he would get fined.”
What he meant was:
“Well, he’s not talking to me so I’m not talking to him.”
The Benching of a Possible Hall of Fame Quarterback During a Winnable Game. In my humble opinion, the decision to pull veteran quarterback Donovan McNabb from the game against the Detroit Lions with 1:50 left in the game and only seven points down was the worst of Shanahan’s year here. To make things worse, he mangled the reason(s) so badly over the next two days that it was hard to keep track of what it was he was trying to say to the media. I wrote at the time that the pulling of McNabb from that game was more likely a gut reaction to the mistakes the QB was making on the field, and the head coach should have admitted it and left it at that. Fortunately, yesterday, he did admit that he should have handled the situation differently. It appears that Shanahan wishes he had simply said that he didn't feel McNabb was playing well enough that day.
“I should’ve been more honest than I was,” Shanahan admitted at his Monday afternoon press conference. “Sometimes you do things to protect players and at the same time, you are actually hurting them, so I wish I had handled it differently.”
Kudos to the coach for standing up to his mistake.
The Culture at Redskins Park Has Changed for the Better. The regime change has been a major improvement for the organization. There is no doubt that things are looking up out in Ashburn, regardless of the 6 – 10 record.
Redskins fans are, as a rule, pretty smart. As much talk as there was last season from the players about continuing to work hard, play hard and “believe” in former head coach Jim Zorn towards the end of that awful season, they were not and did not and we knew it.
This season, however, there is every indication that the team continued to work hard over the past three or four weeks even though the playoffs were out of reach. The game against the New York Giants was an example of this. Not only did the offense continue to produce (they came very close to winning that game), the way the defense turned itself around in the second half of that game – and especially the fourth quarter – would not have been possible had they not believed in where the team was headed. Of course, many players were auditioning for next season – as well they should – but had that been their only motivation, it likely would have shown in players being out of position - working on their own moves for the highlight reels, etc.
Clinton Portis has always been the barometer for me, of how much the team is "buying in". When the veteran running back to put so much time in out at Redskins Park this past off-season, and embraced Shanahan's system so whole-heartedly and obviously, I believed he would be the example that his teammates would find easy to follow.
Shanahan is Good at Finding and Using Young and/or Unknown Talent. These last two or three weeks have been great in terms of seeing the young and unknown players on the roster show what they can do. It is refreshing to see the intensity and enthusiasm – and health – of players like linebackers Rob Jackson (he had a nice sack in the Jacksonville game) and Perry Riley (I know, I know… forget about that Vikings penalty… he’s young); nose tackle Anthony Bryant, safety Kevin Barnes (who had a great game against the Giants), d-end Darrion Scott, return specialist Brandon Banks, wide outs Anthony Armstrong and Terrence Austin, offensive lineman Will Montgomery and of course, running backs Keiland Williams and Ryan Torain. All of these guys have taken advantage of the opportunities to show what they can do and all of them are worthy of being in the NFL. I only wish we had seen some of them earlier in the season.
Washington Won Six Games This Season, Not Four. To show improvement is a measure of whether or not a change is good, right? If so, I’d have to say that the team has improved. It helps that the teams the Redskins beat were decent… the Dallas Cowboys, 6-10 (at the time, they were thought to be good and, under Jason Garrett, they seem to be turning into the team everyone thought they would be), the Philadelphia Eagles, 10-6, the Green Bay Packers 10-6, Chicago Bears, 11-5, the Tennessee Titans, 6-10 and Jacksonville Jaguars, 8-8. Only two of the teams that Washington beat have losing records.
Another sign of the improvement the team has made this year is evidenced by offense being produced on the field. That, in and of itself, is different from the last few years. To see the quarterback (whichever one) pass the ball DOWN the field – and then see a receiver catch it – is so unfamiliar to many newer Redskins fans that it is an actual surprise to witness. That is rather sad. Hopefully, however, a good and productive offense will become the norm, not the exception. There is a lot of work to do in terms of the offensive line and quarterback positions but knowing that the team can produce on offense is enough for hope.
It’s time to move on now to the 2011 season. Free agency and the draft will soon be in the viewfinder and there is a lot to look forward to. Hopefully, lessons learned from mistakes will be applied to the future.
In all probability, we of Redskins Nation will get a little too unrealistic and a little too optimistic in our predictions of the coming season (unless, of course, some move is made that is so hard to understand that not even Charley Casserly can figure it out).
That’s all right… it’s what makes Redskins Nation the best fans in the league.
What a great day for professional football! The NFL finally did it right this year by setting up the schedule to so many games count today.
The New York Giants (9-6) are coming to FedExField and their season could depend on a win. That makes it more fun for the Redskins (6-9 with no post-season) to play hard because playing spoiler to the Giants is going to be fun as hard as they’ve made life for Washington over the last several years.
To get to the playoffs, the Giants need to win here in Washington today and the Chicago Bears need to beat the Green Bay Packers.
With the last couple of games for the Giants likely screaming in the players’ collective ears – back-to-back losses that were ugly – they are going to be determined. Two weeks ago they looked to have the Philadelphia Eagles well in-hand and then fell apart in the fourth quarter to lose the game 38-31. Last week, they were thoroughly beaten by the Green Bay Packers 45-17. That isn’t something you see every day. Instead of coming into this last game in control of their own fate, they will need to fight hard to concentrate on the game at hand rather than watching the scoreboard at FedExField to figure out how hard they need to work.
These events give the Washington Redskins every reason to go out and have a blast beating a team they should be able to beat.
It’s not necessarily because the Redskins are so much better than the Giants that makes a beat down possible. It’s because on ‘any given Sunday,’ you never know which of these two teams will show up. I mean, today the Tampa Bay Buccaneers beat the New Orleans Saints. Can you imagine the feeling of accomplishment if the Redskins can beat the Giants today? It would be great to have two consecutive Victory Mondays even if they are at the end of a losing season.
I’m not going to go on about New Year’s resolutions. There’s enough of that all over the Internet, in books and on TV. However, I’m unequivocally stating – with the World Wide Web as my witness – that I resolve to pay more attention to the details of my life, whatever shape those details take. I’m going to remove the words, “in a minute” from my vocabulary. No more leaving my jacket on the back of the couch until the next time I walk by, no more leaving things in the car until the next time I go somewhere, no more mail left unopened. The little things will not go unattended.
I can thank the Washington Redskins late - and in my humble opinion, great - Sean Taylor for this.
When the anniversary of Taylor’s 2007 passing came around again this year, I realized I still had not accomplished a task I have wanted to undertake for some time. I needed to move some recordings I had made of the tributes and memorial service for him (and a pregame show) from my DVR to a DVD for my dad. Not only did I need to buy some additional cables (S Video and an RCA jack, though that’s not important) for the recording to work properly, there was always something else that required my attention.
I decided after Christmas, while I still had some time off from work, that I was going to get it done. I went to Radio Shack, bought what I needed and got it going.
Because of the way that our HDTV components are configured, the recorded shows had to be playing on the TV while I was copying them to the DVD recorder. I had planned to do some other things around the house while the programs recorded but, seeing the images surrounding this young man’s passing again on the screen captured my attention immediately.
As I sat and watched, I was amazed at depth of the emotion that came over me so long after the event. I was lucky enough to meet Taylor twice and, I am not going to lie… I adored him. But I am also a die-hard Washington Redskins fan and, like any other burgundy & gold bleeder; I was simply mesmerized by the safety’s talent and ability.
Especially moving to me was a pregame show I’d recorded; aired before the Redskins played the Buffalo Bills that year that Taylor was killed... watching it brought back so many memories.
I went to that game with my husband and it was a surreal experience. As we sat in the stands preparing to watch the game, it just did not seem possible that the Washington Redskins defense was going to take the field without Number 21, not because he was injured, but because he was gone. I was still in shock from the news and emotions of the previous week and that first defensive 10-man formation play took my breath away with the statement it made. I watched a lot of the fans around me and it was obvious that I wasn’t alone in how I felt.
The video tribute to Taylor had the entire stadium’s attention. The quiet in that huge place, other than the sound of the video, was extraordinary; the collective pain of 80,000+ fans palatable. I remember clearly the way the fans in the stadium reacted to the video tribute during a clip when Taylor was asked what his favorite thing was about playing at FedExField.
“My favorite thing,” Taylor had said, “is when we [have] home games… the fans are cheering and you got that 12th man... and everybody's excited. I like playing at home. That's my favorite part about being a Redskin..."
The stadium erupted in cheers and applause.
There was also a lot of cheering and #21 towels being waved during the clips of Sean’s big hits. This was in no way fans just being rowdy but rather an expression of affection – a way to honor Taylor’s athleticism, commitment to the game and the joy he was to watch. During the video of Taylor’s teammates, coaches and fans talking to and about him, people all around me were openly emotional. Men, women, old, young, black, white…. It didn’t matter because Sean Taylor had touched all Redskins fans. It was a situation such as I have never experienced and watching the coverage again brought it all back.
Taylor’s good friend and Redskins teammate Clinton Portis said during an NFL Network interview that the last time he saw Taylor was in the locker room on the Saturday before the November 25th Tampa Bay Buccaneers game. The running back said that he and receiver Santana Moss were discussing the fact that Moss was unhappy about his stats for that year. Portis described Taylor, joining in the conversation, bringing his new, upbeat attitude with him and pointing out that his friends were focusing on the wrong thing. Portis said that he and Moss felt much better about things after the dialog. He also said that, as Taylor left the room and walked through those locker room doors, he never considered that it would be the last time he saw his friend.
I sat and watched the highlights of some of the hits that the immensely talented safety had made in his career and it occurred to me again that Taylor’s athleticism really was amazing. While some of it was undoubtedly natural ability, much of it has to be because he worked hard at taking care of himself, practicing his craft and committing himself to the game he loved so much.
I have been blessed in life to not have had to live through a huge amount of sorrow. What happened to Sean Taylor was one of the most tragic things I have ever endured, however, and I was not even a close friend or family member. Many fans were affected deeply by the young man’s passing.
In caring about Taylor, I thank God that he had the time he did to come to truly appreciate those important things in life – which made him very happy - before he died. Sean Taylor did sweat the small stuff and revisiting his life showed me that I need to do this as well.
Thank you Sean, for showing me how to do it right.
Clinton Portis interview begins at around 1:15.
This is the Video Tribute shown at FedexField during the Buffalo Game, 12/2/2007.
